@@@ F1 Thread: 2015-16 Season@@@... Singapore Gp.. Sept 20 @ 8 Am Et

[mtkr]

2014 Formula 1 Great Britain Grand Prix race edit

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tutMIZTEA3Q

[mtkr]

 

Sebastian Vettel wants Kimi Raikkonen to stay with Ferrari in 2016

 

Sebastian Vettel wants Kimi Raikkonen to remain his Ferrari team-mate in 2016 and is convinced the Finn will "soon return to being the driver we all know".

 

Raikkonen came into this season following a torrid 2014 campaign and has struggled to match four-time world champion Vettel, with just one podium. Austria was a low point for the Finn's season, being eliminated from Q1 and then ending up in the wall after just two corners.

 

Ferrari has an option to extend Raikkonen's deal beyond the current season, something Maurizio Arrivabene has said will be decided based on his performances this year. The ongoing uncertainty around his future at Ferrari has fuelled speculation about the Italian outfit signing Valtteri Bottas from Williams.

 

But Vettel, who is known to have a good friendship with Raikkonen, wants to see Ferrari's line-up remain unchanged next season as he thinks the 2007 world champion will return to form before the current season is out.

 

"Kimi will soon return to being the driver we all know," Vettel told Sky Italia. "He is going through a season of ups and downs, but we are talking about a talent that can do his job to perfection.

 

"It's true that this year he has made some small mistakes, but in certain circumstances he was also unlucky, so I think the situation should be considered in proportion. Obviously I'd like to continue with him. We have an excellent relationship and we motivate each other, but it's not for me to decide and I don't know the details."

 

[mtkr]

 

 

F1 needs a thriller at Silverstone

 

Focus on... Positive vibes.

 

It's an understatement to say F1 has seen a lot of negativity around Formula One. Whether it's been the almost-absolute dominance of Mercedes, the arguments around and lack of direction about the future of the sport, or the constant debates around the current cars being too easy to drive, there's no doubting the current season has not been a good one for the sport's image. Many of those same problems existed last year but the season was peppered with genuinely exciting races and a bitter fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg for the title. This year has lacked the type of races we saw last year in Bahrain and Hungary, for example, but none so far this year stand out in the same way. Another part of last season was the swinging pendulum in the title fight, which was in part dictated by Mercedes retirements - this year's fight so far does not seem anywhere near as intense as it did in 2014, even with the potential of Ferrari getting in the mix.

 

This season needs a memorable race to get some positivity flowing around the paddock again. It will not heal the deep wounds in the sport currently and the urgent issues which do need addressing, but it seems vital to get some positivity back in the sport again. At the Formula E finale at Battersea Park last weekend FIA president Jean Todt made an appearance and chided F1 journalists present for being too negative in their coverage of the sport this season, saying it was the prerogative of those in question to be positive about the product. That works both ways, however, and the sport creates its own headlines on Sunday afternoon. With the ideas from Wednesday's Strategy Group meeting likely to be a major talking point over the weekend the on-track action has never seemed as important as it does going into Silverstone this weekend.

 

 

 

In need of a podium

 

Kimi Raikkonen could be forgiven for one poor season on his return to Ferrari, but two consecutive years of struggling is unlikely to go down well at Maranello. The Finn may have made a step forward since 2014, but his detractors will point to just one podium so far this season despite clearly having the second fastest car at his disposal. Bad luck has struck more than once and in races he has shown glimpses of his latent talent, but measured against his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Raikkonen's first eight races have been substandard. The poor results are unlikely to make a difference to Ferrari this year as it cruises towards a second-place finish in the constructors' championship, but if it makes a sizable step forward or backward next year the lack of pace could become a problem. Raikkonen, therefore, has to shine in the second half of the season, starting this weekend in Silverstone.

 

 

In need of points

 

After eight races of reliability issues and Q1 knock outs, the size of the challenge facing McLaren- Honda has become increasingly clear. Promises of better things to come are starting to wear thin, yet those in the team stick by the mantra that this year's struggles are the start of something very special. McLaren CEO Jonathan Neale insists the Honda project is still very much in its infancy: "Mercedes has been in their development process for four-and-a-half years and Honda is two-and-a-half years through theirs. In Formula One you do it all in public, which is part of why we like it because it's a real test of getting job done at a personal and team level." But to prevent the 2016 season turning into another public test session for Honda, the team needs to start to see progress soon. Points on a track like Silverstone would represent a significant step for McLaren and put the team in a very good position for the following round in Hungary, which should suit its car. Make no mistake, McLaren has made progress since Australia, but it needs to significantly accelerate that process in the second half of the season to stand a chance of being back where it belongs this time next year.

 

 

ESPN prediction

 

Austria was a significant victory for Nico Rosberg and backed up his Spanish Grand Prix result as proof he can beat Lewis Hamilton fair and square in the right circumstances. However, Hamilton has always been quick at Silverstone and has made a habit of bouncing back from defeats with an even better performance at the next round. Combine that with the support of a sell-out Silverstone crowd and it would be a brave F1 fan who bets against the home hero this weekend.

 

Betting

 

Lewis Hamilton is the favourite to win with odds of 1/2 ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg at 7/4. If you foresee a Mercedes meltdown, Sebastian Vettel has tempting odds at 10/1 and Kimi Raikkonen is 25/1. However, following his podium finish in Austria, Felipe Massa is 80/1 for victory, which would also be a hugely popular result in front of Williams' home crowd. Perhaps a more likely result would be a Massa podium at 5/1 or, if he takes an alternative strategy, 25/1 to bag the fastest lap.

 

 

Weather

 

The UK is enjoying a minor heatwave at the moment, which is expected to tail off slightly over the weekend. Temperatures of 29C are expected on both Friday and Saturday, while Sunday should see a drop to 24C. But it wouldn't be Silverstone without a threat of rain and a 20% chance of precipitation on Saturday ticks that box.

 

 

[mtkr]

silverstone

 

 

 

[mtkr]

Hungarian Grand Prix Budapest – Hungaroring

 

July 24 - 26

 

race july 26th @ 6AM EST

 

 

 

 

[mtkr]

 

FIA to warn teams over dummy pit stops  :5_2_108:

 

F1 'very boring' with limited development - Alonso  :3D_Smiles_38:

[4Vikram]

The FIA has confirmed Formula 1's longest-ever calendar for 2016, at a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Mexico on Friday.

A draft version of next year's 21-race schedule was distributed to promoters earlier this year, and the FIA's version is unchanged.

In a statement issued on Friday night, it confirmed some interesting shuffling of the order and a later start than normal.

The Malaysian Grand Prix, which often formed a double-header with Australia at the start of the year, will now move to September to go back-to-back with Singapore.

It means China will take the second slot behind the season-opening Australian GP on April 3, with the Russian GP at Sochi also moving forward to May.

The new race in Baku has been given a July 17 date.

The full calendar is as below…

April 3 Australia

April 10 China

April 24 Bahrain

May 1 Sochi

May 15 Spain

May 29 Monaco

June 12 Canada

June 26 UK

July 3 Austria

July 17 Baku new entry

July 31 Germany

August Hungary

August 28 Belgium 

September 4 Italy 

September 18 Singapore

September 25 Malaysia 

October 9 Japan 

October 23 USA (Austin)

October 30 Mexico 

November 13 Brazil 

November 27 Abu Dhabi 

[4Vikram]

Giorgio Piola looks at the major upgrades of the new B-spec Force India introduced at Silverstone, and how the team managed to introduce a unique nose.

Force India's wait for its B-spec car at the British Grand Prix proved to be well worth it, as the package of upgrades left drivers and team chiefs convinced of a strong remainder to the campaign.

While heading into the Silverstone weekend there was an eagerness to play down expectations, by Sunday night, hopes were high that Red Bull could be within its sights.

Nostril nose

Technical analysis: Force India new nose

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Nose designs have been a key area of focus for teams this year, as they bid to recover the aerodynamic loss forced on them through a change of regulations.

The fashionable solution has been the short nose concept, first raced by Williams but subsequently copied by Red Bull and McLaren.

After months of work in the Cologne wind tunnel, Force India has elected to do something different with its 'nostril' design, which will not have entailed as tricky a crash test programme as it did for other outfits who elected for the short nose.

The two vents on either side of the nose feed air underneath and in to the floor area of the car.

These 'nostrils' have been the subject of much intrigue ever since the design was first tested at the Austrian Grand Prix, as F1's regulations were supposed to have outlaw holes.

Article 3.7.8 of F1's regulations states: "Only a single section, which must be open, may be contained within any longitudinal vertical cross section taken parallel to the car centre line forward of a point 150mm ahead of the front wheel centre line, less than 250mm from the car centre line and more than 125mm above the reference plane."

Force India has done something clever though with the underside of the nose featuring a spoon shaped lip (see inset), which ensures that when you take a 'longitudinal vertical cross section' there is only one section contained.

To keep the prying eye of rival engineers away, Force India created some carbon covers that were run in the post-Austria test and in practice at Silverstone, but the FIA asked for them to be removed.

Engine bay

While the change to the nose was the most visual from the outside, there were big changes under the skin too.

Force India has done a lot of repackaging – with there being a much narrower carbon airbox, to make things more compact around the Mercedes engine.

Technical analysis: Force India engine details

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The changes under the skin have delivered aerodynamic benefits, because they have allowed for much tighter bodywork packaging.

The differences in engine cover can be seen in this photo, with the team needing to introduce a small fin along the top of the engine cover to comply with the regulations.

Technical analysis: Force India engine cover

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Suspension

Technical analysis: Force India engine details

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Force India had already revised its rear suspension before the British Grand Prix, and its packaging at Silverstone showed where it stores an hydraulic accumulator.

An effective ban on FRIC systems last year meant teams could no longer connect their front and rear suspensions, but Force India is still using an hydraulic system at the rear of the car.

[mtkr]

 

F1 gathers for Jules Bianchi's funeral in Nice

 

 

Jules Bianchi has been laid to rest in his home town of Nice following a funeral attended by many of the leading figures of Formula One.

 

Bianchi died on Friday night, nine months after suffering serious head injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix. His funeral was held on Tuesday morning at Sainte Reparate Cathedral in Nice shortly after 10am local time.

 

Two portraits of the former Marussia driver had been placed at the front of the cathedral, while wreaths were placed in a square nearby. After the funeral, current drivers stood for a moment of quiet reflection around his coffin - which had Bianchi's helmet placed on the end - outside the cathedral.

 

Among those in attendance were former world champions Alain Prost, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, along with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton. They were joined by current drivers including Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Felipe Massa, Marcus Ericsson, Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

 

Bianchi's former team-mate Max Chilton, Jean-Eric Vergne and Adrian Sutil were among the former F1 drivers in attendance. FIA president Jean Todt was also present, along with Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) president Alexander Wurz.

 

After the service Vergne, who was one of the pallbearers for his friend Bianchi, told Sky Sports: "One of the greatest drivers has left us, but with such a beautiful souvenir. He has been a great person, outside and on the track. His name will stay written in the history of Formula One ... He is with the greatest now, and he will always be in our hearts."

 

The FIA has  announced it will permanently retire Bianchi's number 17 from use in memory of the Frenchman. It is the first occasion of a number being retired in F1 as drivers now pick one number to accompany their entire career, a practice which started last season.

 

Bianchi's death marks the first time a driver has died as a result of a Formula One crash since Ayrton Senna was killed in an accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, 21 years ago.

 

 

[mtkr]

Gooo lewis gooo

[4Vikram]

GO VETTEL GO

GO KIMI GO  bl@st  bl@st  bl@st

[4Vikram]

Well Done Seb.. pity for Kimi and Lewis  bl@st bl@st bl@st

[siru]

Ferrari finally
Bl@st

[siru]

But I hate to see Seb winning

[4Vikram]

But I hate to see Seb winning

but why